This invention relates to the use of a baculovirus genome to express an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell.
Viruses of the family Baculoviridae (commonly referred to as baculoviruses) have been used to express exogenous genes in insect cells. One of the most studied baculoviruses is the Autographa californica multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV). Although some species of baculoviruses which infect crustacea have been described (Blissard, et al., 1990, Ann. Rev. Entomology 35: 127), the normal host range of the baculovirus AcMNPV is limited to the order lepidoptera.
Current methods of expressing genes in a mammalian cell include the use of viral vectors, such as those which are derived from retroviruses, adenoviruses, herpes viruses, vaccinia viruses, polio viruses, sindbis viruses, or adeno-associated viruses. Other methods of expressing an exogenous gene in a mammalian cell include direct injection of DNA, the use of ligand-DNA conjugates, the use of adenovirus-ligand-DNA conjugates, calcium phosphate precipitation, and methods which utilize a liposome- or polycation-DNA complex. In some cases, the liposome- or polycation-DNA complex is able to target the exogenous gene to a specific type of tissue, such as liver tissue. Some methods of targeting genes to liver cells utilize the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R) which is present on the surface of hepatocytes (Spiess et al., 1990, Biochem, 29: 10009–10018). The ASGP-R is a lectin which has affinity for the terminal galactose residues of glycoproteins. In these cases, the DNA complexes are endocytosed by the cell after they are bound to the ASGP-R on the cell surface.
Gene therapy methods are currently being investigated for their ability to correct inborn errors of the urea cycle (see, e.g., Wilson et al., 1992, J. Biol. Chem. 267: 11483–11489). The urea cycle is the predominant metabolic pathway by which nitrogen wastes are eliminated from the body. The steps of the urea cycle are primarily limited to the liver, with the first two steps occurring within hepatic mitochondria. In the first step, carbamoyl phosphate is synthesized in a reaction which is catalyzed by carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPS-I). In the second step, citrulline in formed in a reaction catalyzed by ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC). Citrulline then is transported to the cytoplasm and condensed with aspartate into arginosuccinate by arginosuccinate synthetase (AS). In the next step, arginosuccinate lyase (ASL) cleaves arginosuccinate to produce arginine and fumarate. In the last step of the cycle, arginase converts arginine into ornithine and urea.
A deficiency in any of the five enzymes involved in the urea cycle has significant pathological effects, such as lethargy, poor feeding, mental retardation, coma, or death within the neonatal period (see, e.g., Emery et al., 1990, In: Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics, Churchill Livingstone, N.Y.). OTC deficiency usually manifests as a lethal hyperammonemic coma within the neonatal period. A deficiency in AS results in citrullinemia which is characterized by high levels of citrulline in the blood. The absence of ASL results in arginosuccinic aciduria (ASA), which results in a variety of conditions including severe neonatal hyperammonemia and mild mental retardation. An absence of arginase results in hyperarginemia which can manifest as progressive spasticity and mental retardation during early childhood.
Current therapies for hepatic disorders include dietary restrictions, liver transplantation, and administration of arginine freebase, sodium benzoate, and/or sodium phenylacetate.